Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Bike Review - Specialized Allez Sport 2015

The very first Specialized bike I rode was a Allez Sport 2014 . This was before we started dealing with Specialized bikes at TBA. Till that time I used to believe Aluminium is harsh. That ride changed my opinion. During the
short spin I had to recheck a couple of times that the frame material is not
carbon! Two things stood out tall - the compliance with respect to road vibration and the acceleration ! That was the
bike which got me excited about the brand.

The specialized Allez Sport 2015

About 3 months later, we got our 2015 Allez Sport Demo bike. I got a chance to test it
for a few training rides (a 3 hr zone 2 ride, hill repeats at whisper
valley).The review was done on a 52cm demo bike of The Bike Affair. My ideal
size on this would have been 54cm, but wasn't too bad for testing.

Geometry

The Allez Sport 2015 - the bike I test rode.

The Allez is Specialized's Aluminium series in the race geometry. A 52 cm
bike has stack/reach ratio of 1.36 indicating a low and aggressive
geometry for racing.It is surprising to have a race geometry frame with such a comfortable ride. The shape of the hydroformed tubes in the front triangle could be one of the factors contributing to the ride quality.

Specs

Wheels
- The wheels are made up of 32 H double walled rims, which is
excellent for training rides. They roll quite well and are solid. I hit a
pothole pretty hard and the wheel was perfectly true. However when you
are looking for an upgrade or go for a race, swapping to race wheels
would be the biggest gains at a budget.

Groupset
- The Allez Sport comes with Sora groupset. We felt that the same
groupsets on the Allez shifted better and smoother than those on a few
other brands of bicycles. The quality of cables, cable routing and usage
of more complete groupsets probably contribute to this. The gear ratios
with 50/34 chain ring and 12-27 cassette should be fine for an all
round ride with decent hills.

Shifting is fast and crisp

Nice to see Shimano Sora crank instead of some no name crank that have
only 'Shimano' on it, which is what we mostly see paired up with Shimano Sora shifters.

Brakeset - Even on the steep downhill section of the whisper valley ( In case you are not from Hyderabad, Whisper valley is a km long hill - the steepest in this part of the city ), I was always in control. The brake set did inspire confidence. Notice the clearance even with a 700x25c tire . Extra clearance will ensure your wheel won't get accidentally jammed when you ride through dirt and muck.

The Axis caliper brake inspired confidence, and we were quite happy about it.

The Ride

Like the 2014 Allez, the bike handled bad surfaces exceptionally well. It felt super responsive and my legs immediately felt connected to the bike. It had excellent acceleration and responded immediately to any attacks that may be needed in a race. The bike felt well balanced and was confidence inspiring when getting out of the saddle.

However, my legs seemed to be little bit more loaded throughout. In contrast to bikes like the Bergamont Prime 6.4 which encourage more of a tempo ride, the Allez is very springy. But frequently I couldn’t continue the rhythm on a long climb or on a tempo ride.

This behaviour was confounding me. I was wondering whether it was just some crazy feeling, wrong size or is there a logical explanation to it? While I was reading more about the geometry, frame stiffness etc, I stumbled upon an article which mirrored my views. The simple explanation is that when the frames flex with our pedal forces, the flexing and rebounding of the frames could help smoothen out the dead spots and have an easier, faster ride (referred as planing). I still don't know the reason. Maybe the Allez frame is a little too stiff for me ;-). Hurts the ego a bit, but shows that there is scope for improvement for me.

By the way, it is interesting how different frame sizes alter the fundamental
behaviours of bikes. I will be digressing if I step into that now, but
be assured I will cover that soon in a separate blog.

Expensive Buy ?

At close to Rs 90,000 with a sora groupset, the bike might seem a bit costly if you
were to compare bikes with similar group sets. However, look beyond the surface, and the picture is quite different. Specialized tends to invest more
time and energy into the frameset rather than just picking up a run of the mill frameset and installing high end shifter and derailleurs ( which unfortunately is the trend). Unlike many other brands, specialized balances out the whole experience by providing decent brake sets, wheel sets and cranksets.

Their commitment to the product also includes every small aspect - be it
the saddles (Specialized Body Geometry Toupe Sport) , tyres(Specialized
Espoir Sport 700*25c with double black belt puncture protection) , the bar end plugs or the small padded insert underneath the bar tape. The
saddles/tyres are the most neglected and quality is outright ridiculous
in many other brands.

So if you were to
look at the complete bike( the frame set, wheels, tires, saddles, cranks
etc) and the quality of all the components, it is excellent value for
money.

32 spoke bomb proof wheel. Comes with the peace of mind that it is really tough to get the wheel out of true.

What I wished for

Really nothing I can think of

The Verdict

Generally in India we get only endurance geometry bikes at the lower end. It is pleasing to see a good race geometry road bike being offered at the starting range (the Specialized Allez C2 2014 starts at Rs.62,680, Sport 2015 is Rs.89,900). Just as if to answer your next question ( which probably is "Are we ready for race bikes in Indian road conditions?") The frame smoothens out vibrations and you will experience much lesser road buzz. Combined with excellent pair of wheels, tyres and saddle, there is hardly anything that needs to be changed for your training rides that include bad sections. Thus it is an excellent choice for someone interested in racing, but still wants a comfortable bike over long distances.